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Framing hammers


JD Forge

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Looks like a Vaughan style. My day job is as a Carpenter, and one thing I've been thinking of making is some framing hammers.  They look good, the main thing with wood handled framing hammers is to have a large eye, thats a weak point. The only thing I see wrong with them is maybe taper the nail pulling side a little more consistently there are big nails and small, if its a gradual taper it'll fit them all. Also I'm curious how you hardened and tempered them, also what steel?

 

 

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Thanks for the feedback. I'm happy to get feedback from carpenters!! I see what you mean about the slot for the nails. I'll try to fix that in the future.

I used 1045 steel. So I quenched in water and then stuck a heated drift through the eye of the hammer to do the tempering. 

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Have you tried hitting it on something relatively hard? Just to see if it wants to shatter? I know my favourite hammer as of the last ten years or so is a 22oz Estwing, I had a Vaughan California Framer that looked a lot like your hammers. My experience with the Estwing is that they tend to err on the tough side. Meaning that the head deforms over time and the nail pulling end tends to wallow out after a while, but they don't break. Seems like there is a fine line in there. I have a book around here that tells the preferred temper color of a hammer head, just gotta find it.

 

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It’s tough to say what the proper temper color is for a hammer because steels vary so much even from batch to batch. I personally err a little on the softer side because I’d rather not worry about the liability of a sliver going into someone’s eye. Plus, the claws need to be a little softer and springier that the face so they aren’t snapped off. 

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On 9/17/2018 at 11:04 PM, Rhyfelwr said:

Have you tried hitting it on something relatively hard? Just to see if it wants to shatter?

I haven't done any real tough tests. The tempering colour obviously depends on the kind of steel as well. I figure for 1045, being a medium carbon steel you wouldn't want to temper it to soft. Just get the brittleness out of the eye and the areas next to it. But I'd definitely rather have the claws bend than have them snap.

On 9/17/2018 at 11:03 PM, Ranchmanben said:

I really like the hammer head and the handle shapes but I hate the handle finish. Either burn it or don’t, as it is it looks like it will give you leprosy when you go to hammer a nail. 

Good point! Personal preference I guess... I hadn't really thought of it before.  I guess they are a little blotchy. 

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I don't know about the bending rather than the snap thing, I've snapped the claws off of a 4' nail pulling bar and if the texture of the break was anything to judge the temper was near perfect and hard as glass or nearly anyway. You sacrifice wear on the claws for toughness. And as for temper colors I straw temper most of my knives, sometimes deep straw. And the choppers hold well and sharpen decently. And the axes that I've made in 1060 and 5160 that I tempered straw chop through cinder block alright, though the 5160 tends to be much more durable.

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7 minutes ago, JD Forge said:

Good point! Personal preference I guess... I hadn't really thought of it before.  I guess they are a little blotchy. 

You’re exactly right, it personal preference. If you fully burn the handles, as they are used they’ll develope their own patina as the burnt wood wears through to the unburnt. Same as an oiled handle will darken in spots from handling. You made some mighty nice looking hammers but to me the handles don’t do the hammer heads justice. If you’re happy, stick to your guns and I’ll keep my yap shut. 

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On 9/17/2018 at 11:23 PM, Rhyfelwr said:

I don't know about the bending rather than the snap thing, I've snapped the claws off of a 4' nail pulling bar and if the texture of the break was anything to judge the temper was near perfect and hard as glass or nearly anyway.

Interesting. I think what I should do is let a carpenter use some of the hammers I've made, and get him to test them on a real job site. I'd like to make them to sell, but I do want them to be worth buying.

On 9/17/2018 at 11:27 PM, Ranchmanben said:

You’re exactly right, it personal preference. If you fully burn the handles, as they are used they’ll develope their own patina as the burnt wood wears through to the unburnt. 

I appreciate your opinion, thankyou. 

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14 minutes ago, JD Forge said:

I think what I should do is let a carpenter use some of the hammers I've made, and get him to test them on a real job site. I'd like to make them to sell, but I do want them to be worth buying.

That’s the right way to go! Just be warned, others will do things to tools you made that you never would have thought of. You know how that took was made and will use it accordingly, others just see a hammer. They do look nice and I hope everything goes well. There’s a shortage of nice handforged claw hammers in the world. 

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Like the hammer, I agree that the finish on the handle needs work - I don't mind a burnt finish but that seems overkill.  I think I'd prefer just a stained handle of some kind, or just bare.    

Only other comment is personal - I'm STILL waiting for the trades to wake up one day and notice that women do some of the work, too.  It's sometimes difficult for me to find a hammer (or power tools, or gloves, or....don't get me started) that fits my hand nicely - they're typically over-large diameter for a female's hand.  

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Don't feel alone Spanky, most hammer handles are too large for my grip too and let's not start talking about stupid huge rubber pistol grips.

Really nice looking hammers JD, I loved my framer.  I'm not a pro by a long shot but I built our house with it. I believe if you're going to sell hammers you really need to pay attention to the steel and heat treat, you might run into liability issues. Maybe. 

The slot in the claw of mine is sharp on the inside edges, it didn't need to come against the head to grip and pull a nail. Ufortunately I haven't been able to find mine since before the accident so I can't say what make it is and I'm afraid it grew legs. <sigh>

The handle finish is a matter of taste you might consider offering several. I warm my handles in the toaster oven to about 200 f. then apply . . . (You guessed it :)) Trewax. At that temp it becomes very fluid and penetrates I don't know how deeply but it takes 2-3 generous coats before it's had enough and I can wipe it off. 

Frosty The Lucky.

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My last few hammers, I've given the ash handles a light char all over, then painted on a coat of my standard finish (1 part tung oil, 1 part turpentine, 1 part beeswax) and buffed it. Gives a nice bit of shine without the kind of high gloss that can lead to blistering.

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I've done a light char on ash sometimes as well. I like how the ash grain really pops out when you do that. So far what I've been doing is giving the handles a few coats of boiled linseed  oil. I generally haven't buffed them, but I do tend to give them a good rub with a shop towel or something. 

What are your suggestions as far as steel? Is 1045 a good choice for framing hammers. I like it because its fairly simple to heat treat with a coal forge, nothing to fancy about it. 

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I don't know I'm not a carpenter so I'm not in the loop. I liked mine, even know where it is but I don't know how popular they are. Roofing hatchets are almost undoubtedly a more marketable and easier to make hatchet. Be good practice for making larger ones.

If guys are using framing hatchets then there will be a market for custom made hand forged framing hatchets. I'd think $300+ for a nice damascus framing hatchet would be a deal. Hmmm?

Frosty The Lucky.

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When I was building our house '82-'83 I was part of the crew and using an Estwing leather disc handle framing hammer. One day I was complaining about my elbow hurting. The master carpenter on the crew putting on the roof decking took a look at it and threw it as far as he could out into the woods. He gave me a wood handled framing hammer that had no name on it and my elbow problems disappeared. I looked for that Estwing for years but never found it.

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Mr. Dragon,

SLAG suggests using a metal detector for your next search, methinks.

The steel handle does a wonderful job of propagating the shock,  from striking nails,  into your arm, elbow, and shoulder.

Bursitis and repetitive strain injury are not uncommon from same

Not nice.

Respectfully submitted.

SLAG.

 

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Mr. Dragon,

Like the New York State trademarked catchy phrase.

Sit down;  and wait for it.   Good Fellow.

"hey you never know".

If it was buried deep enough, and in dense humus the oxygen could be limited.  (all kinds of goodies have been preserved in places like northern European peat bogs. etc.

Who can ever forget Tolland man?

Funny I never met the chap.  He lived long before my time.

You might be pleasantly surprised.

Then again such a search over a half acre? may not be worth the time.

SLAG.

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